Putin says will pardon jailed Khodorkovsky

MOSCOW
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday that he planned to pardon former tycoon and bitter Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky after more than a decade behind bars.

President Putin revealed after his marathon annual news conference that Mr Khodorkovsky had for the first time written a request for a pardon, citing humanitarian circumstances as his mother is ill.

Mr Khodorkovsky’s legal team said it had no information that the former head of the now defunct Yukos oil giant had asked for a pardon but the Kremlin said the request had been personally signed by him.

“I think given the circumstances we can take the decision and very soon the decree to pardon him will be signed,” President Putin said in comments broadcast by state television. President Putin said that under Russian law a convict has to request a pardon before obtaining one.

The Russian leader said the 50-year-old Khodorkovsky — who was convicted of fraud and embezzlement — had not done this until now.

“He did not do this and then quite recently he wrote such a document and addressed me with a request for a pardon,” said President Putin while referring to Mr Khodorkovsky with the respectful patronymic form as Mikhail Borisovich.

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin on Thursday described US surveillance programmes as a necessity to fight terrorism but also expressed admiration for fugitive Edward Snowden over his leaking of the schemes.

Speaking during his marathon annual press conference, Putin denied he had ever met former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Snowden who now has refugee status in Russia.

“I don’t know Mr Snowden, never met him. I have a lot of things to do,” Mr Putin said.

But he added: “He’s not uninteresting to me. Thanks to him, millions of people, including political leaders, have changed their minds on a variety of issues.’’

DENIED SNOWDEN'S QUESTIONING

Putin once again denied that Snowden was ever questioned by Russian intelligence officers and said that he is staying in Russia as long as he doesn’t engage in “anti-American propaganda.”

“We are not working with him and never have, we don’t bother him with questions regarding what was done vis-a-vis Russia by the agency where he worked,” Putin said.

Putin said however the spying is a “necessity” and added that he “envies” US President Barack Obama.

“He can do this and have no consequences,” Putin said of the spying.

“As much criticism as our American friends face, I think all this work is done primarily to fight terrorism,” he said, adding that despite everything “all in all, it is a necessity.”

“You have to follow not just one terrorist suspect, but the entire network of his contacts,” he said. “That is next to impossible by only spying on one suspect.”

“Espionage is one of the oldest professions,” said Putin, himself a former KGB spy, drawing laugher from the audience of hundreds of journalists.

“I am not defending anyone, but to be fair, it’s all done primarily to fight terror,” Putin said.

Snowden made a series of leaks about global US surveillance programmes after quitting his job as a contractor for the NSA and then attempted to flee to South America only to get stuck in a Moscow airport.

In August he was granted one-year asylum status by Russia and is living in an undisclosed location. Recently his Russian lawyer said he had started working for a major website to earn some money after running out of cash.